The pathbreaking Saudi Arabian director, Haifaa Al Mansour, has won the $100,000 (Dh367,270) IWC Filmmaker Award. Mansour, who was declared the winner on Thursday night by head of the jury Cate Blanchett, wins the prize for her script Miss Camel. The IWC Filmmaker Award, held annually during the Dubai International Film Festival (Diff), had four contestants from the GCC, including Emirati filmmaker Nayla Al Khaja.
“It is my pleasure to again be part of the IWC Filmmakers Award Jury, I am always intrigued by the different voices and perspectives of the projects we get to judge,” Blanchett said, before naming Al Mansour as the winner.
Miss Camel, tells the story of Hayla, a Saudi teen who will do anything to escape her arranged marriage and fulfil her goal of attending art school outside of Saudi Arabia. While she makes her plans, she makes a startling discovery
at her cousin’s wedding — she can talk to animals.
This is not the first time Al Mansour has been recognised on a major platform for her work. Her 2012 film, Wadjda, was Saudi Arabia’s first ever entry in the Oscar’s Foreign Language Film category in 2013.
“The number and quality of entries that we receive continue to astound us, and this year was no different. We appreciate the vision and creativity of the filmmakers of the region and, through this award, we aim to help them make this vision a reality,” said Abdulhamid Juma, the chairman of Diff and also an IWC Filmmaker Award jury member.
Christoph Grainger-Herr, the CEO of IWC Schaffhausen, added: “We at IWC consider filmmaking an integral part of cultural creation and an art form which contemplates a wide range of themes central to humanity. Being storytellers ourselves, we deeply appreciate the creativity, courage and passion that talented filmmakers invest into their work and we are proud to support them with the IWC Filmmaker Award.”
The Thursday event, held at the One&Only Royal Mirage in Dubai, was a star-studded affair. Attendees including Diff Lifetime Achiement honoree Sir Patrick Steweart, Tunisian actress and IWC Filmmaker Award jury member Hend Sabry and Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor.
